the Christmas Shoes
by LiveFoREVer93
Summary: AU! Little 7 year old Beavis buys the perfect gift for his mother


Little snowflakes fell onto the cold, hard grounds of Highland. Then again, it was Christmas time so what can you expect?

It was the night before Christmas and all through the streets, many of the town's residents were rushing around, trying to find last minute gifts for their friends and loved ones.

One of those people went unnoticed however. A little 7 year old boy with blonde curls hugged his old, worn out jacket closer to him though it didn't seem to matter to him anyway. The coat was full of holes so he was defenseless against the freezing cold wind that had just started to blow.

It helped a bit that he was wearing a pair of gloves as well as a scarf and hat but not by much. The gloves had holes in them as well and the hat was much too big for his head.

The boy didn't care about the wind or if he was freezing cold. He had only one thing on his mind, only one thing that mattered to him at that very moment.

The litte bell above the store door dinged, signaling that someone had entered the store. The man working behind the counter was about ready to pull his hair out. The sound of that bell was the only thing he has heard for weeks making him almost ready to yank it off the wall and stomp on it. He cautiously eyed the little boy, watching him as he walked to the near back of the store.

He didn't trust people who looked like they lived in a pile of trash not that he had seen anyone like the boy walk in the store but he had seen plenty of people like this walking around Highland. Most people who came in were dressed more clean cut looking. Nothing at all like the way the poor boy looked.

His hair looked greasy, as if it hadn't been washed in weeks and he had dirt and filth stains on his clothes and face. Even a cut and bruise or two. The man shook his head lightly as he turned to the line at the check out counter that was beginning to grow, focusing now on the customers looking to pay for their gifts. The sooner he checked out all these customers, the sooner he could go home and get Christmas over with. This was his least favortie time of year anyway.

The little boy kept focused on what he had come in the store for and when he saw it, his little chocolate brown eyes lit up, sparkling with excitment, something he hadn't felt in months. Picking up his speed, he hurried over to the rack, gently picking up the item he had been pining after ever since she said she loved them so.

The item was a pair of beautiful red high heels with a red velvet bow tied on the back of the heel. He looked at the shoes in his hands, touching them as if they would shatter at the touch. For the first time in months, a smile spread across his dirt covered face, thinking of the look on her face when she saw them and how strikingly beautiful she would look in them.

The 'she' he was thinking about was his best friend, his protector, his favorite person in the world: his mother. He remembered just a few short months ago when he and his mother walked into this store, looking at all the fun and beautiful things they were too poor to buy, when his mother spotted the shoes. It was the first time in a long time the little boy had seen such a smile on her face.

"They're so beautiful!" she gasped, her eyes filled with a sparkle and light that made her son's heart fly. He rarely got to see his mother happy and it was even rarer that he saw her happy like this.

He and his mother lived in an old, beat up double wide trailer with his father who was a mean and nasty person. While his poor mother stayed home all day cooking and cleaning, trying to make his father happy with everything in her power, his father stayed out all day sleeping with other women, drinking, and doing all kinds of drugs. The result was always the same: he would come home drunk and angry, yelling and screaming at his wife like she was a dog, smacking, hitting, and punching her.

When his father was finished, he would always leave the house again, leaving his wife crying quitely in a corner as if not to worry her son, badly beaten both physically and emotionaly. He noticed anyway. He knew of everytime his mother got hit and smacked around. He heard every foul name his father called her, every hit, every scream his mother let out, even with his eyes squeezed shut, fingers jammed in his ears so far it hurt, teeth glintched together so tight he thought they might break. And when the hellful noises had finally silenced, he would quitely open his bedroom door, poking his head out just to be sure his dad was gone, the sounds of his mothers quiet cries and sobs filling his ears. His heart breaking everytime he heard the sound, it took everything in the little boy's power not to start crying himself. He felt he had to be strong for her.

When he reached her, he got down on his hands and knees, wiping her tears away before wrapping his arms around her lovingly as he lay down beside her on the floor, kissing her cheek trying to soothe her pain. It didn't matter though. She still continued to cry.

As he looked back down at the shoes in his hands, his smile faded. Sure it was months ago when she had first spotted the shoes but it was also just months ago when she was dianosed with cancer, changing both their lives forever. He gently touched one of the shoes with his finger, watching as a tear landed on it.

He started picturing her in the most valuable item she owned: her best red dress, a V-neck wrap around design, making him remember the greatest memory of his short life. He had only seen her wear it only once in his life. It was two years ago. He had quitely opened his parents's bedroom creaked door a little wider, smiling as he watched his mother sit at her makeup dresser, putting on her make up. Her beautiful long blonde hair was done in a Bohemian Rhapsody hairstyle, making her look like even more like an angel to him.

She had spotted him out of the corner of her eye just as she was finishing her make up and smiled lovingly at him. He took a couple steps closer in the room, his hands clasped together with a sweet, loving smile on his face, his eyes sparkling. He had never seen anyone more beautiful in his life. He wished he could stop time and live in that very moment forever.

"You're beautiful", he gasped in a voice barely above a whisper. He remembered the sweet look on her face as she leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Thank you sweetheart", she had replied in a soft sweet voice.

His tears started to flow faster and harder as he clutched the shoes tightly in his hands, gritting his teeth together to keep from sobbing. He started thinking about how she looked before he left the house tonight. His dad was gone as usual, leaving him and his mother alone, not that he gave a damn. After he had put on his jacket, gloves, and hat, he grabbed the old gray knee high sock filled with coins and dollar bills he had started collecting the very day his mother spotted the shoes and started to leave.

But not before gently opening his parents creaked bedroom door and peeking his head in, eyes filled with sadness. The only light in the house came from his parents room which wasn't much at all. The room was being lit by a couple bedside table lamps, a heater blowing warm air thoughout the room to keep his mother warm. He slowly walked a little further in the room, fighting to keep himself from crying in front of her. His mother smiled softly when she saw him. "Hi, sweetie", she said in a tired voice, barely a whisper. The very sight broke his heart.

His mother was now thin and pale, very pale. It seemed the only color to her was her long hair which wasn't really saying much. It lay flat and almost lifeless around her shoulders. Her lips were pale and chapted, but her smile was still as beautiful as ever. He slowly walked to her bedside, stroking her hair a little before kissing her forehead. "I'll be right back Mom", he told her softly. "There's something important I need to pick up." His mother smiled softly and slowly nodded her head.

He started to rush out the door when he felt his mother gently grab his wrist, causing him to turn around and look at her. Her soft smile had been replaced by a serious frown. "Beavis", she said to him softly. "Don't be long." Those words made his heart shatter. Something in her voice spoke to him, saying it wouldn't be long now. Fear taking over him, Beavis nodded quickly, kissing her forehead again before running out the door.

Snapping out of his thoughts, the little boy gripped the shoes tight, hurrying to the check out counter where the line had grown even longer. Praying silently, he watched as more and more people checked out, leaving with their purchesed items. At last it was his turn. Beavis placed the shoes on the counter, digging in his jacket pocket for the sock, dumping its contents on the counter. The man behind the counter eyed the money annoyingly. Beavis bounced on his feet, watching anxiously as the man counted all the coins and dollar bills.

Finally he made eye contact with the little boy in front of him, frowining. "Sorry", he said dryly. "You're 6 dollars short." Beavis felt his heart explode, tears filling his eyes. At this moment he didn't care who saw him crying. "Wh-What?" he stammered, voice breaking. The man behind the counter looked even more annoyed. "You're short some money, son." He spoke to the boy like he was mentally disabled. "Bu-but you don't understand!" Beavis cried, tears flooding down his face. "I need to buy these for my mom! She has cancer a-and I don't think she'll be here for much longer! Please sir! She needs these shoes! She always went without, doing everything she could for me!"

The guy behind the counter was not moved. "Sorry", he said dryly, about to take the shoes and put them behind the counter to put them back later when he saw the person behind Beavis place 6 dollars on the counter. Eyes going wide, Beavis looked at the person behind him. He looked like a teenage boy about 15, with curly brown hair that looked just as greasy as Beavis's underneath a black ski hat, wearing a grey AC/DC shirt underneath a black jacket. He smiled at the little boy, his braces and gums showing. Beavis wiped his eyes, smiling back as the man behind the counter put the shoes in a bag, handing them to the little boy.

Beavis took the bag gratefully before turning back to the teenager behind him. "Thank you", he said softly, fresh tears filling his eyes. "Thank you so much!"

The teenage boy waved good bye to the little boy before watching him run out of the store, the smile still on his face. Earlier, he had walked into the store, not really in the mood to shop for anything. He had already gotten himself something so he knew he had to get his parents something, feeling it was only right. The only problem is his parents were the world's hardest people to shop for and he only made so much at his job at Burger World.

He looked down at the antic diamond braclet he picked out for his mother and the beer glasses he picked out for his dad when he realized something. Christmas wasn't about the gifts, what people would and wouldn't like. Christmas was about what had just happened to him: giving and helping those less fortuniate. He set his items on the counter, looking out the store window by the door. He could see the little boy, barely in sight, running down the road. It made him see things in a whole new light.

Years down the road, he would look back at that Christmas Eve and realize something. That boy had bent sent by God, to remind him what Christmas was all about; and once reminded he never forgot.


End file.
